Half a world apart, Adebayo and Heat's summer roster show intriguing possibilities in victories

LAS VEGAS – The kids? They’re all right.

While Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was showing off an impressive 3-point shooting stroke half a world away in an Olympic exhibition Wednesday in Abu Dhabi for Team USA, the Heat’s domestic product again showed the intrigue of youth being injected into the pipeline.

In moving to 3-0 in the NBA Summer League on the UNLV campus with a 92-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat exhibited a decided payoff from their college scouting.

From No. 15 pick Kel’el Ware, the 7-footer out of Indiana, there was a third double-double of the summer, with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

From No. 44 pick Pelle Larsson, the guard out of Arizona, there was a more aggressive bent on the offensive end, filling out his scoreline with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.

From undrafted Arizona forward Keshad Johnson, who is on a two-way contract, there continued to be a relentless motor that went far beyond his nine points.

And from undrafted Isaiah Stevens, the guard out of Colorado State who has been signed to an Exhibit 10 camp tryout contract, there were a series of pinpoint passes to baseline cutters among his eight assists.

Along the way, there also was a thunderous dunk from Heat guard Alondes Williams, as part of a 10-point, five-assist performance.

About the only negative for the Heat with the kid stuff was Johnson being lost late in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle.

With 2023 first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr. done for the summer after a pair of dominant performances, the kids again were given center stage, as the Heat improved to 5-1 this summer, while also counting a 2-1 run in the California Classic summer league that preceded the move to Las Vegas.

For Ware, it was another exhibit of maximizing his 7-foot-4 wingspan and 9-4 standing reach, taking command at the rim on both ends, with the next goal clearly of upgrading his bulk.

For Larsson, it was showing a comfort to play in attack mode, the style that attracted the Heat’s interest in the second round of last month’s draft.

With Johnson, it was nothing short of the relentlessness that has been relentless these past two weeks, again, even at 6-6 taking minutes at center.

As for Stevens, it was simply the moxie of a rookie unafraid of seizing control of the offense.

In addition, the Heat again got a quality 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc from Cole Swider, who currently is in summer league without a contract after playing on a two-way deal with the Heat last season.

After a pair of breakout fourth quarters in the Heat’s first two games in Las Vegas, Josh Christopher was moved into Wednesday’s starting lineup, alongside Ware, Johnson, Larsson and Stevens. This time, it was an uneven ride for Christopher, who closed 3 of 13 from the field.

The Mavericks led 21-14 at the end of the first period before the Heat moved to a 37-32 halftime lead and 61-57 advantage going into the fourth.

The Heat next play Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern against the Toronto Raptors’ summer roster, with at least one more game over the weekend before their summer schedule comes to a close.

Haywood Highsmith and Dru Smith were among Heat players in attendance.

Adebayo thrives

Again playing as a power forward with the second unit, Adebayo had a breakout performance in Wednesday’s 105-79 Team USA victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia in a pre-Olympic tuneup in Abu Dhabi.

Playing alongside Anthony Davis, Adebayo closed with 17 points in his 19 minutes, at 6 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds and three assists.

On the way off the court, USA Basketball teammate LeBron James turned to Adebayo and offered up a new nickname.

“The new Splash Brother,” James said. “Bam Bam Splash.”

After the game Team USA coach Steve Kerr, who is being assisted by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, said, “Bam and AD together are really something, just the switching, but they can also protect the rim and be in a drop if we go to that coverage.”